Train Of Thought: Big K.R.I.T. Breaks Down His Single “Mt. Olympus”

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Big K.R.I.T. has started building momentum for his sophomore Def Jam album, Cadillactica, later this year, and the songs he's been releasing have shown that he's in no mood to suffer the haters this time around. His debut album, 2012's Live From The Underground, was a solid mix of soul-inflected Southern beats and circular hooks, but he's received criticism for relying too much on the same type of production crutches on his projects. K.R.I.T., the low-key Mississippi MC with bars for days and the respect and love of the underground, was being picked apart for the first time on a mainstream level.

Then came Kendrick Lamar's verse on Big Sean's "Control," where KDot called out all his contemporaries in the rap game, including K.R.I.T., and laid out a challenge for hip-hop supremacy. Suddenly Krizzle was thrust back into the spotlight as one of the rappers Kendrick "murdered" on his verse, and the humble lyricist took it to heart. Fans found that out after one spin of the first single off Cadillactica, "Mt. Olympus," which dropped in April. The song—produced by him—is aimed straight at the critics and people who hit him up following "Control," and re-asserted his claim to the Throne with an unrelenting intensity.

Cadillactica is due out this Fall, and K.R.I.T. mentioned during a recent phone call with XXL that it's close to being completed, saying he's "getting this planet all landscaped and ready so that people can take it a a real tour around these parts." And while he's worked with Southern legends like Bun B and Big Boi in his career, he's also been in the studio working with Lil Boosie as a producer, either for Boosie's upcoming double album or for Cadillactica. "Oh man, it was amazing to be in the studio with the OG, man, and to be able to just be a producer—not even as a rapper or artist—but just to be making the music, and being able to vibe with him and how his work ethic is, knocking song after song after song out," K.R.I.T. said about working with Boosie. "It was amazing just to be able to chop it up with him and hear about everything that he's gone through as far as his grind and putting out music and the underground and proving himself. It was definitely one of those situations where it was one of those milestones."

With Cadillactica on the way, XXL spoke to the 2011 Freshman to get the back story of "Mt. Olympus" and break it down piece by piece to get to the bottom of that new lyrical fire that has replaced K.R.I.T.'s generous demeanor. It's real country shit. —Dan Rys